Attempted traffic stop turns fatal for fleeing moped driver in NLV

Area of chase, officer-involved shooting

A man died in a hospital today after being shot by North Las Vegas Police who say he fled a traffic stop and later confronted officers with a handgun that, unknown to the officers at the time, was actually a pellet gun.

The incident began around 1:30 a.m., when North Las Vegas Police officers making a traffic stop tried to pull over the suspect on a moped at Camino Al Norte and Ann Road. Police say the suspect fled north at low speed on the moped into a residential area near Tropical Parkway and Revere Street. The man got off the moped at the 700 block of Rio Royal Way and led multiple officers through yards and neighborhood streets in a foot pursuit, said Officer Chrissie Coon, a North Las Vegas Police spokeswoman.

Around 1:50 a.m., the suspect went back onto Revere Street at the 6000 block, and that's when, according to police, the man turned and "confronted" officers with what appeared to be a black handgun. A North Las Vegas Police officer shot the man multiple times, Coon said.

Investigators at the scene later recovered the moped driver’s firearm: a pellet gun. According to Coon, the pellet gun closely resembled a semi-automatic handgun. A second replica handgun was discovered in a backpack thought to have been abandoned by the suspect.

The man was transported to University Medical Center in critical condition, where he later died, Coon said.

Investigators continue to comb the crime scene for evidence.

The officer who shot the suspect is 29 years old and a six-year veteran of the North Las Vegas Police, the department announced. The officer, whose identity will be released Monday, has been placed on routine paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

The incident is the second officer-involved-shooting this year in North Las Vegas .